Display box with an attachable lid movable relative to the box

ABSTRACT

A display box with an attachable lid, which lid is movable to a cover position to close the top of the box and is movable to a vertical position to extend rearwardly of one of the ends of the box to support the box in an inclined display position and is also movable to a vertical position rearwardly and parallel to the bottom of the box to provide an open display box supported in an upright vertical position or in a horizontal position.

United States Patent [191 Smith DISPLAY BOX WITH AN ATTACHABLE LID MOVABLE RELATIVE TO THE BOX [75] lnventor: Leonard Richard Smith, Chicago,

[73] Assignee: The S. K. Smith Company, Chicago,

Ill.

[22] Filed: Oct. 4, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 186,067

[52] US. Cl 206/45.23, 206/4513, 206/452, 220/38 [51] Int. Cl B05d 5/52 [58] Field of Search 206/4523, 45.2, 206/4513, 44 R; 220/38; 228/44 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,378,363 5/1921 List 206/4523 1,526,213 2/1925 Humphrey 206/452 UX 1 Jan. 8, 1974 1,247,848 11/1917 List 206/4523 2,131,093 9/1938 Cage.... 2,329,685 9/1943 Baker 206/4533 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 403,863 1/1934 Great Britain 206/452 Primary Examiner-William T. Dixson, Jr. Assistant Examiner.1ohn M. Caskie Att0rneyMax R. Kraus 5 7] ABSTRACT A display box with an attachable lid, which lid is movable to a cover position to close the top of the box and is movable to a vertical position to extend rearwardly of one of the ends of the box to support the box in an inclined display position and is also movable to a vertical position rearwardly and parallel to the bottom of the box to provide an open display box supported in an upright vertical position or in a horizontal position.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures DISPLAY BOX WITH AN ATTACI IABLE LID MOVABLE RELATIVE. TO THE BOX BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of this invention is to provide a display box formed of cardboard or the like with a permanently attachable lid or cover, which lid or cover is movable relative to the box so that it forms a cover to enclose the open top portion of the box, or the lid may be moved to form a supporting stand in an upright vertical position rearwardly of oneend of the box so that the box is supported in an inclined plane and in which the lid may also be moved to position it parallel to the bottom of the box to provide an open display box supported in an upright vertical position or in a horizontal position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a display box with an attached lid which is movable to a plurality of positions unattainable by prior art constructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. I is a view of the box forming this invention, showing the lid or cover in closed position to cover the open face of the box.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the lid positioned adjacent one of the ends of the box to support the box in a display position.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the lid positioned rearwardly of the bottom of the box and parallel with the bottom in another display position.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of a modification with the lid positioned rearwardly of the bottom of the box body and parallel thereto, similar to that of FIG. 3 but with an extended slot so that the upper or front edge of the lid can be positioned flush with the rear end wall of the box body.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive, the box body is generally indicated by the numeral 10 and comprises a pair of spaced side walls 12, spaced front and rear end walls 14 and 16, and a bottom wall 18. Each of the side walls 12 of the box is provided with an elongated slot which extends forwardly and is spaced from the rear end wall 16 of the box body, with the slot extending along the length of the side walls 12.

The lid or cover, generally indicated by the numeral 22, comprises a top wall 24 and spaced side walls 26. The front edge 28 of each of the side walls may or may not incline or slope inwardly. The front edge of the top wall of the lid or cover is indicated by the numeral 30 and the rear edge is indicated by the numeral 32. Fixed to each of the side walls 26 of the lid or cover is a trunnion, generally indicated at 34, having a head and a stem 36, which stem extends through a suitable opening 38 in the walls of the cover. The stem of the trunnion also extends through the slot 20 in each side wall 12 of the box body. A washer 40 is positioned on the trunnion on the inside of the box, with the inner end of the trunnion turned to form a shoulder 42. The trunnions 34 are fixed relative to the top or cover 22 of the box but slide in the slots 20 into various positions relative to the box body to permit closing of the lid or to permit the lid to form an upright support, as in FIG. 2, or in a position rearwardly of the bottom wall, as shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lid or cover 22 is positioned to cover the open face of the box body 10. In this position the trunnions 34 would be positioned adjacent the front end of the slots 20 and the lid or cover is positioned to rest on the box body to completely enclose the open face of same. In this position the lid or cover 22 cannot be lifted to expose the box contents. A box with the lid in this position can be shipped, transported or stored with the contents therein fully enclosed.

When it is desired to set up and use the box as a display, as shown in FIG. 2, in which the lid is positioned in an upright position to the rear of the rear end wall 16 of the box body, the lid 22, from the position shown in FIG. 1, is slid rearwardly and said lid is then turned to assume an upright or vertical position so that the rear edge 32 of the lid will rest on a supporting surface. In this position the box body is supported forwardly of the lid at an inclined plane so that the goods therein may be displayed.

An important feature of the invention herein is to permit the lid or cover 22 to be further positioned rearwardly of the bottom wall 18 of the box body and parallel thereto, as shown in FIG. 3. From the position of the lid or cover in the vertical position shown in FIG. 2, the lid is moved rearwardly to the end of the slots 20 in the box body so that the top wall 24 of the lid is spaced from the rear end wall 16 of the box body. The lid would then be parallel to he rear end wall 16 of the box body but spaced therefrom. The lid is then turned clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 2, relative to the box body so that the top wall 24 of the lid is positioned parallel to the bottom wall 18 of the box body and adjacent to the bottom wall 18, as shown in FIG. 3. In this position the front edge 30 of the lid can be positioned to extend above the rear end wall 16 of the box body to form an exposed ledge indicated by the numeral 44 which may carry an advertisement since this portion extends above the rear end wall 16 of the box body and would be readily visible when the box is in upright position as shown in FIG. 3. In this vertical position the lid may be elevated to extend higher than that shown and considerably above the rear end wall 16 of the box body, since the only limitation would be the inner or rear edges of the slots 20, therefore, the inside exposed portion of the lid can be greater than that shown in FIG. 3 if desired.

In FIG. 6, the lid or cover 22 can be slid down so that the front edge 30 of the lid is flush with the rear end wall 16 of the box body so that no portion of the lid would extend above the rear end wall 16 of the box body. This is accomplished by providing a longer extending slot 20' in each of the side walls 12 of the box body. While in the modification shown in FIG. 6 the front edge 30 of the lid 22 is shown extending above the rear end wall 16 of the box body, it is understood from the description and illustration that the lid may be lowered due to the length of the slots 20.

The further positioning of the lid relative to the box body is attainable in a large measure due to the absence of front and rear end walls in the lid, leaving such ends of the lid open to permit the movement of the lid as described.

While FIGS. 3 and 6 show the box body 18 positioned in an upright position with the lid rearwardly thereof, it will be understood that the box body may be horizontally positioned on a supporting surface with the open face of the box body facing upwardly instead of forwardly as shown. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the lid may be positioned behind the bottom wall 18 of the box body in a vertical position or may be positioned horizontally underneath the bottom wall 18.

What is claimed is:

l. A box including a box body as one member and a lid therefor as another member, said box body having spaced side walls and spaced front and rear end walls and a bottom wall providing a box body with a top open face, said lid having a top wall and spaced side walls with no end walls providing a lid open at its opposite ends, slots formed in the side walls of one of said members and trunnions carried by the side walls of the other member cooperating with said slots to permanently connect said lid to said box body, said lid being slidable relative to said box body and positionable to cover the top open face of the box body to cover the contents of the box, said lid also positionable in an upright vertical position rearwardly of the rear end wall of the box body to form a support for the box body, and support the box body with the top open face facing upwardly, said lid also positionable so that the top wall of the lid is parallel to and positioned rearwardly of the bottom Wall of the box body to support the box body in an upright vertical position with the open face of the box body facing 4 forwardly.

2. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the lid when positioned in its last mentioned position with the top wall of the lid parallel to the bottom wall of the box body will have a portion of the top wall of the lid extending upwardly of the rear end wall of the box body.

3. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which when the lid is positionable in an upright vertical position rearwardly of the rear end wall of the box body, the box body will be supported at an inclined angle.

4. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the front edge of the side walls of the lid incline inwardly.

5. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the slots are in the side walls of the box body and in which the trunnions are carried by the side walls of the lid.

6. A box as set forth in claim 5 in which the slots extend substantially the length of the sidewalls of the box body.

7. A box as set forth in claim 5 in which the slots extend less than half of the length of the side walls of the box body.

8. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the top wall of the lid has a front edge so that when the top wall of the lid is positioned parallel to and behind the bottom wall of the box body, the front edge of the lid will be positioned above the rear end wall of the box body.

9. A box as set forth in claim 8 in which the front edge is positioned on substantially the same plane as the rear end wall of the box body. 5 

1. A box including a box body as one member and a lid therefor as another member, said box body having spaced side walls and spaced front and rear end walls and a bottom wall providing a box body with a top open face, said lid having a top wall and spaced side walls with no end walls providing a lid open at its opposite ends, slots formed in the side walls of one of said members and trunnions carried by the side walls of the other member cooperating with said slots to permanently connect said lid to said box body, said lid being slidable relative to said box body and positionable to cover the top open face of the box body to cover the contents of the box, said lid also positionable in an upright vertical position rearwardly of the rear end wall of the box body to form a support for the box body, and support the box body with the top open face facing upwardly, said lid also positionable so that the top wall of the lid is parallel to and positioned rearwardly of the bottom wall of the box body to support the box body in an upright vertical position with the open face of the box body facing forwardly.
 2. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the lid when positioned in its last mentioned position with the top wall of the lid parallel to the bottom wall of the box body will have a portion of the top wall of the lid extending upwardly of the rear end wall of the box body.
 3. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which when the lid is positionable in an upright vertical position rearwardly of the rear end wall of the box body, the box body will be supported at an inclined angle.
 4. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the front edge of the side walls of the lid incline inwardly.
 5. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the slots are in the side walls of the box body and in which the trunnions are carried by the side walls of the lid.
 6. A box as set forth in claim 5 in which the slots extend substantially the length of the side walls of the box body.
 7. A box as set forth in claim 5 in which the slots extend less than half of the length of the side walls of the box body.
 8. A box as set forth in claim 1 in which the top wall of the lid has a front edge so that when the top wall of the lid is positioned parallel to and behind the bottom wall of the box body, the front edge of the lid will be positioned above the rear end wall of the box body.
 9. A box as set forth in claim 8 in which the front edge is positioned on substantially the same plane as the rear end wall of the box body. 